As part of its commitment to building the field of public diplomacy, CPD conducts research into thematic areas of perennial interest and identifies emerging trends deserving of further scholarship. CPD welcomes research proposals that match these initiatives. To this end, each year scholars are invited to apply for the non-residential CPD Research Fellowship program. All in-house research and related CPD events are designed to bridge the gap between academic and professional work in these areas. Current research initiatives are listed below:

Accurately evaluating public diplomacy activities continues to prove challenging to practitioners around the world. CPD intends to conceptualize PD evaluation as an integral part of strategic planning and provide analytic tools to assist those conducting public diplomacy. We will also define what is measurable and not measurable for policy-making purposes.

Given the resurgent nationalism across multiple regions and the growing centrality of information technology in sowing the seeds of distrust and violence, it is critical to rethink the role of public diplomacy in combating ideologies and narratives of adversarial state and non-state actors in current as well as emerging conflicts. This initiative seeks to explore priorities and actions in public outreach and engagement to counter information warfare and prevent future conflict. Photo courtesy of AMISOM Battalion in Mogadishu by United Nations Photo, CC BY NC-ND 2.0.

Cities across the world are increasingly poised – and being called upon – to play a greater role in addressing challenges at the international level, from climate change and immigration, to the health and security of citizens. This initiative will provide a framework for creating the first-of-its-kind capacity-building program for effective city diplomacy.

As non-state actors become increasingly engaged in global development, CPD will create a framework for understanding the relationship between international development and public diplomacy and the role non-state actors can play in the process. Analysis of water diplomacy, corporate diplomacy efforts and specific international aid projects will continue. Photo courtesy of Pete Lewis/Department for International Development via Flickr Creative Commons.